Decoy



Dec. 23, 1952 J BERTRAM 2,622,360

- DECOY I Filed July 29, 1948 4 Snventor f/E/VR) J2 BERTRAM Gttomeg Patented Dec. 23, 195 2 This invention ifmt'sflte "decoys;- -particiilarly in simulation of ducks; -g r tli nke nd used by hunter'srweaaamg wild -fwl' into shooting range.

to ro not meter" q vide a hollow fla'stic decoi that by changein temperature; to p'r v having ashape to e thfefiesired we tribution and center of-gra-vit weight and anchor atta'chme 'ts-' hat are foi'ined as integral 'parts of the-"pod she] ofthe decoy.

In accomplishing these n'd her 'objects of the invention, I'hav'e pr ture, the preferredidgin in the accompan ing-um""fig wherei' v Fig; 1 isa=perspectivew1ew of coir con structedmacedmanee With themresent invention.

Fig. 2 is ya-perspectiveg-view of the parts of the decoy prior to assembly and shown in related spaced position. f

Fig. 3 is a sectionthroughthhead portion of the decoy io'n theifline"3+-31ofi-Fig-; 1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the Fig. 5 is an underneathplane' view of the weight, the body shell of the decoy beingashown fragm n arily, l W

v. Fi 6l-is Jan. enlar emsecti n m gh the We t att chin lu s llu tratings uideip foraligning the lugs andflbottoms OfF'zthGr-IbOdY Refe r g o ein o tithe wm s;

id s snat sa dccoycon tmcted in ccordan ith the presen nvention. and which includes; a light-weighthol W bodysh el 2'; The In 'dyfshell illustrated is a simulation of a w d duels-although it "may ibe-provided otherxforms without d'eparting from thewspirit .of thezinvention. I

The loody ..'2. has i. a substantially-L flat hoTttdi-li '3, sides 4 and a tail portion 'fig a'head I ahd b'ilw. Depending from the longitudinal center of the flat bottom are lugs 9 and I 0 having annular shoulders II and I2 encircling pin-like terminals l3 and M which are provided in spaced relation V r29, lsisLs' i fa -N z liafn .2 blaims. (01.: -42 2) igroovesfll 5 and 1- Alsofdepending -'fro'm-th sat ho tpmna:easemen w thnemesis-a :19 are ars f and I. f av er ur s l r f h in e .QQ 11 0i; h wehb whi a s i offthe decloys nay be connected together or set td qtna rl a l v Secured to the lugs' 9 and It! on the 139 13 shell substantially flat plate "ortion z l hating round- ;ed ends 2 Z L-and f2 3 joiningwith substantially *"flalt ara lel side 24 and 25-; Deii i t a f i the .plate portion 2 l of the weight" is; s'lightl'y outwardly flaring slgirt 26 having a fiatj hottoin edge "21 so that the decoy may be stablysuiiportgi on a flat surf ace. The plate portion off the w'eigl'1t "also hasboss'es fzB -and '29 at 'the erids thereof and which are ,providedwith axial openings 30 and-3| 'sp ced; in accordance with" the axial spacinghof the'pin terminals Astrid H of themes 29 i nd I Ila the, sses avi fiat-tons'so s to t 'againstthe'shoul-ders I land [2 when the pinterminals of the lugs are passed through therel i i li ne ng 112 -1 2 The "annular r ove rj fiie ar s te on e ter a so that they -;are positionedjust under the; plate QPtiDn of the weight as shown-fin Fig. 4 't -a c 'commo'date split 'rings32 and 33 that are-ex pandedover the terminal ends of the pins to 1 .1w th i' o vesx 1 an ii-Wh t new pressjed over thee'nds of the pins. To facilipliclation of therings; the ends of the pins h tb'ev es w'i n is ede 1 .shelrof herd ekt pre ra li' d cd g weight-plastic which is adapte'djtobe inolded-intd a shell of' desired thickness. ;To f i ita e, fq 'strileti ni:r e 'Shll lr e in 'right and left; sections35;and; 361 having mat- 'ing;edg1es 31-and'3 on'eof whichhas a slight thereof -locat ed in vthe planes pof the edgeslso that when t i' ec' iq s'ar placed i i alids ti nthe faces of lugs sme rs will be incontact; IIhe plastic.;;used is prefrahly t ansparent substantially translucent so that theeves he t rme byem qs ment Ha sh w with the insides provided with concent enn;- cavities and 46. The inner concavities are spotted with a coloring material such as paint and the larger concavity 45 is encircled about In assembling the body shell of the decoy, the

eyes are first painted as just described and a suitable plastic cement or solvent is applied to the edges 31 and 38 as well as the fiat faces 41 and 42 of the lugs 9-10 and ears l'I-l8. The sections 35 and. 36 are then fitted together with the pins 41 entering the recesses 48 and the rib 39 entering the groove 49. The sections may. then be placed in a suitable clamp or they may be taped together to support them in assembled relation until the edges are joined to provide a substantially solid construction as well as a leak-tight joint. The exterior of the decoy may then be painted in any suitable manner to indicate the markings as found on the simulated bird. The weight 20 is then attached by bringing the plate portion 2| into position so that the terminal pins 13 and 14 pass through the apertures 36 and 3| and the upper face of the plate portion is seated against the shoulders II and 12. The split rings 32 and 33 are then pushed over the bevelled ends .of the pins I3 and 14 so that they expand and snap into the grooves l and 16 to retain the weight as shown in Fig. 4. The flange or skirt portion 26 of the weight provides a guard for protecting the attachment points of the weight and provides a fiat seating surface which stably supports the decoy.

In using the decoy it may be anchored in floating position by attaching a line (not shown) to one of the ears I! or 18 or a series of the decoys may be connected together by lines passed through the apertures in the ears which may be tied theretoto maintain the desired spacing of the decoys.

In order to prevent the decoys from being effected by changes in temperature, the underside of the bill is preferably provided with a small vent opening 49 to permit breathing as the interior air expands and contracts on changes of temperature.

A decoy constructed and assembled as described is light in weight and when placed in the water has very close simulation to movement and appearance to the natural duck which it simulates. The structure disclosed facilitates formation of the decoy from light weight, substantially strong plastic material and permits the formation of a hollow body which is readily shaped to the desired contour and which is extremely rugged and serviceable in use even though the portion of the body above the water line may become perforated with shot. The shape of the decoy is also such that it has a substantially shallow draft and therefore is not likely to be perforated with shot below the water line. The nature of the plastic and method of coloring the eyes gives a life-like appearance.

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have provideda decoy that is capable of being inexpensively formed of plastic material and the parts assembled to provide a strong, light-weight, serviceable decoy.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A decoy including an elongated body formed of plastic material and having a relatively thin flat bottom, lugs integral with said bottom and projecting downwardly therefrom in spaced apart relation in the longitudinal direction of said body, said lugs having integral pin-like extensions and of smaller diameter to cooperate with said lugs in forming stop shoulders, a weight having a plate portion provided with apertures spaced apart in accordance with-the spacing of the pin-like extensions for passing said' pin-like extensions therethrough to seat said plate portion of the weight against said stop shoulders and retain said weight in fixed relation with respect to the longitudinal direction of said body, said pin-like extensions having annular grooves on the side of the plate portion opposite said shoulders, and retaining'rings seating in said groove and engaging the plate portion'to retain the weight against said stop shoulders, said plate portion of the weight having a depending marginal flange projecting below said pin-like extensions in protecting relation with the retaining rings and for forming a stable support for the decoy.

2. A decoy including substantially elongated complementary concavo convex sections, each in simulation of one side of a water fowl and formed of plastic material, said sections having mating edges connected together to form a water tight joint, lugs spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of said sections and consisting of complementary portions integral with the respective sections and projecting downwardly from the under side of the sections atsaid joint and having contacting faces, said complementary portions having pin-like extensions cooperating with the integral portions in forming stop shoulders and provided with grooves exteding transversely on the outer sides of said complementary extensions, a weight provided with apertures spaced apart in accordance with the spacing of the pin-like extensions for passing the pin-like extensions to seat the weight against said shoulders, and rings in said grooves and engaging the side of the weight opposite the shoulders to retain the weight, said weight including 3, depending marginal flange terminating below the level of said pin-like portions to provide a stable Support for the decoy.

HENRY J. BERTRAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 156,239 Strater Oct. 27, 1874 477,084 Thorn June 14, 1892 970,003 Wethall Sept. 13, 1910 1,061,395 Miller May 13, 1913 1,392,065 Klock Sept. 27, 1921 1,444,342 Godward Feb. 6, 1923 1,457,388 Newman June 5, 1923 1,608,375 Dewey Nov. 23, 1926 1,641,215 Winter Sept. 6, 1927 1,801,961 Hukill et al. Apr. 21, 1931 2,162,786 Oeding June 20, 1939 2,302,206 Gibson Nov. 17, 1942 2,370,017 Delvaux Feb. 20, 1945 2,391,475 Newhardt Dec. 25, 1945 

